The Polish shot-stopper had very little to do for the course of the match, however one lapse in concentration proved costly and resulted in him seeing red. Not the first mistake Szczesny has made this season and he deserves to come in for more scrutiny.

Calum Chambers - 8

The young full-back was immense from the first minute to the last. The confidence that this boy possesses is simply outstanding, he looks ever so composed in every situation. He is prone to the odd minor error, but it’s part of his development.

Per Mertesacker - 7

A very solid performance from the match day captain, as you would expect. Made some vital last ditch tackles and gave an all-round reassuring performance.

Laurent Koscielny - 8

Hasn’t put a foot wrong for the whole season and that continued in last night’s match. He provides excellent cover for Mertesacker when beaten for pace and his tackling is ever so precise. His passing accuracy has also been immaculate this season.

Kieran Gibbs - 8

Completely emulated his performance against Spurs at the weekend and put in yet another superb display. His link-up play with Sanchez down the left was immaculate and I felt Arsenal were really solid on that side with both players tracking back to a great extent.

Gibbs has certainly warranted his England call-up with recent performances and I hope for him that this is the start of a blossoming international career.

Mathieu Flamini - 7

By Flamini’s standards I would actually regard this as a good game for him. He didn’t drop in too deep between the defenders and his tackling was spot on. It would be nice to see him play like that on a consistent basis.

Santi Cazorla - 7

I thought he operated really well in the box-to-box role which is relatively new to him, and he provided a good link between the defence and attack. Still guilty of trying too hard to dribble his way out of trouble though, sometimes he just needs to hoof the ball clear.

Mesut Ozil - 8

A third consecutive solid performance from Arsenal's midfield conductor. Ozil completely orchestrated the game and managed to bag himself an assist. It just shows what playing in his right position can do to his confidence.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 8

An incredible performance by Oxlade-Chamberlain. His work-rate never ceased to amaze me and he was beating men at will. Did excellently to provide the assist for Welbeck’s third. Theo Walcott has certainly got his work cut out for him if he’s going to push Ox out of the team.

Alexis Sanchez - 8

Sanchez started the game a tad under par, maybe due to him starting on the left, however he grew into it and performed really well with Gibbs, the two players making some lovely overlapping runs.

Provided a lovely assist to open the scoring and took his goal very nicely. His passing was also much improved which is an area of his game that has been heavily scrutinised. The work ethic he provides is of course just an added bonus in every game.

Danny Welbeck – 10 (Man of the Match)

What can I say about Welbeck that you don’t already know? To get his first senior hat-trick with Arsenal after only five games and at the age of 23 is a remarkable achievement.

All three goals were filled with supreme quality and it’s nice to see a player with pace, power and coolness going forward. You’d think he’s been there for five years the way he’s playing, and of course he’s getting excellent service from the players around him.

It’s perhaps a bit too soon for the Thierry Henry comparisons, but there’s no doubt we can put a lot of faith in Welbeck.

Substitutes

David Ospina - 7

A first real glimpse of Ospina on the big stage and he impressed hugely for the best part of half an hour. It's great to know that Arsenal have got a player of real quality to step in when needed. I really look forward to seeing him play in Belgium in a few weeks time.

Tomas Rosicky - 6

Made some quick darting moves, looked very refreshing when he entered the game. Still vulnerable of giving the ball away a lot and that’s certainly something for him to work on.

Jack Wilshere - 6

Didn’t see too much of Wilshere for the best part, but he looked good when he came on. Seemed to be there just to build up his match fitness ahead of Sunday. Provided a lovely ball to Cazorla in the closing stages.

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